Immigration vote set for this week

With the lame-duck session winding down, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Saturday the Senate would hold procedural votes next week on a series of Democratic-backed bills, including one which provides a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Reid said he would file cloture motions on the bills Monday night, setting up Wednesday votes to move forward on the measures. On Tuesday, the Senate will begin deliberating whether to remove a Louisiana federal judge, Thomas Porteous, from the bench after he was impeached by the House on corruption charges.

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The majority leader is aiming to adjourn the lame-duck session by Dec. 17, a full week before Christmas.

By holding votes next week on immigration, a health care bill for 9/11 rescue workers and a cost-of-living adjustment for seniors, Reid said it “leaves a pretty clear path” to tackle larger issues like tax cuts, a government spending bill, ratification of the START nuclear-arms treaty, and possibly the massive defense bill which includes the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The House also is expected to hold a vote on the immigration measure, known as the DREAM Act, next week.

In recent days, calls from the Obama administration, the Hispanic community and immigrant advocates urging congressional action on the bill have intensified. But the measure isn’t expected to receive the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, as Republicans vowed this week to block any legislation brought up before the chamber deals with expiring Bush-era tax cuts and funding for government operations.